Draft:Lawrence Brewster

{{Short description|American social scientist}}

{{Draft topics|biography|north-america|politics-and-government}}

{{AfC topic|blp}}

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Lawrence G. Brewster (December 22,1945 -) is an American social scientist known for his pioneering and groundbreaking research into the effectiveness of prison arts (arts-in-corrections) programs{{Cite journal |last=Gardner |first=Amanda |date=2020-04-05 |title=Dr. Larry Brewster and California Arts-in-Corrections: A Case Study in Correctional Arts Research |url=https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/jper/vol6/iss2/9/ |journal=Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023) |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=194–200 |issn=2387-2306}}. He is currently emeritus professor at the University of San Francisco (USF) School of Management where he taught and held different administrative positions for more than 20 years.  Brewster is the author of five books as well as numerous articles and book chapters. He specializes in creating measurement tools for quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method studies{{Cite book |title=ARTS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND CORRECTIONS: International Perspectives on Methods, Journeys, and Challenges |date=2025 |publisher=ROUTLEDGE |isbn=978-1-032-51297-6 |editor-last=Gardner |editor-first=Amanda |location=S.l. |editor-last2=Caulfield |editor-first2=Laura}}.

Education

Brewster received his A.B. (1968) and his M.A. (1969) in political science from California State University, Fullerton, and his PhD (1975) in political science from the University of Southern California. He completed coursework for a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Southern California{{Cite web |title=Larry Brewster {{!}} University of San Francisco |url=https://www.usfca.edu/management/faculty/larry-brewster |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=www.usfca.edu |language=en}}.

Ressearch

Brewster established himself as a leader in prison arts research when he conducted the first and still only cost-benefit study of a prison arts program, in this case the William James Association’s California Arts-in-Corrections Program. Brewster’s seminal 1983 study, “An Evaluation of the Arts-in-Corrections (AIC) Program of the California Department of Corrections,” documented $228,522 in measurable social benefits versus costs of only $162,790{{Cite journal |last=Brewster |first=Larry |date=2010-03-01 |title=The California arts-in-corrections music programme: A qualitative study |url=https://doi.org/10.1386/ijcm.3.1.33/1 |journal=International Journal of Community Music |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=33–46 |doi=10.1386/ijcm.3.1.33/1 |issn=1752-6299}}. The study was instrumental in securing funding from the California state legislature to expand the program to all state prisons. In 2007, Brewster continued his research into prison arts programs, publishing a series of qualitative evaluations establishing benefits in such endpoints as participant self-confidence, social competence, time management, achievement motivation, intellectual flexibility, emotional control and active initiative{{Citation |title=The Prison Creative Arts Project |work=Is William Martinez Not Our Brother? |pages=177–185 |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv65swd5.13 |access-date=2025-04-27 |publisher=University of Michigan Press|doi=10.2307/j.ctv65swd5.13 }}. Again, Brewster’s evaluative work was key in convincing the state legislature to increase funding for the AIC program.

Although the bulk of Brewster’s evaluation research has focused on the California AIC program, the impact of his work extends worldwide. Since 2010, he has been conducting a series of evaluations of jail arts programs in Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio and Texas under the auspices of California Lawyers for the Arts. He also evaluated Tim Robbin’s Actors Gang prison theater program, Wayne Kramer’s Jail Guitar Doors program, and Marin Shakespeare’s prison and returned-resident programs{{Cite web |title=California Lawyers for the Arts - Arts in Corrections |url=https://www.calawyersforthearts.org/arts-in-corrections.html#:~:text=CLA%20has%20now%20completed%20a,was%20completed%20in%20February,%202019. |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=www.calawyersforthearts.org}}.

Career

Since 2002, Brewster has held a number of positions at the University of San Francisco. Prior to that, he held a number of academic and teaching positions at several California prisons. He worked in the private sector as director of market research at an international data and telecommunications company{{Cite web |title=Larry Brewster {{!}} University of San Francisco |url=https://www.usfca.edu/management/faculty/larry-brewster#chapter=field_bio |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=www.usfca.edu |language=en}}. Brewster has also been active in disability rights, volunteering with and conducting research for the World Institute on Disability{{Cite book |title=ARTS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND CORRECTIONS: International Perspectives on Methods, Journeys, and Challenges |date=2025 |publisher=ROUTLEDGE |isbn=978-1-032-51297-6 |editor-last=Gardner |editor-first=Amanda |location=S.l. |editor-last2=Caulfield |editor-first2=Laura}}.

Awards

In 2015, California Lawyers for the Arts awarded Brewster its Artistic License Award{{Cite web |title=California Lawyers for the Arts - Artistic License Awards |url=https://www.calawyersforthearts.org/Artistic-License-Awards |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=www.calawyersforthearts.org}}. He has also received a Law Enforcement Leadership Award and an Outstanding Public Administrator award (1993) from the San Francisco Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration.{{Cite web |title=Larry Brewster {{!}} University of San Francisco |url=https://www.usfca.edu/management/faculty/larry-brewster#chapter=field_awards_distinctions |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=www.usfca.edu |language=en}}

Selected Publications

Brewster, L. (1983). An evaluation of the arts-in-corrections program of the California department of corrections. Santa Cruz, CA: William James Association.

Brewster, L. (Spring 1985). The Arts-in-Corrections: A Cost-Benefit Study. San Jose Studies, XI, 2.

Brewster, L. (2004). A Primer of California Politics, 2nd edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing.

Brewster, L. (2004). The Public Agenda: Issues in American Politics, 5th edition. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Brewster, L. (2010). A qualitative study of the California arts-in-corrections program. Santa Cruz, CA: William James Association.

Brewster, L. (2014). The Impact of Prison Arts Programs on Inmate Attitudes and Behavior: A Quantitative Evaluation. Justice Policy Journal, 11(4).

Brewster, L. and Merts, P. (2015). Paths of Discovery: Art Practice and Its Impact in California Prisons. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Gardner, A; Caulfield, L., eds (2024). Arts in Criminal Justice and Corrections: International Perspectives on Methods, Journeys, and Challenges. Routledge.